I want to see so much more iron casting and work on improving your green sand! This was so cool. And working with Joseph and HTME was cool and would have enjoyed more with them
There really isn't enough cast iron stuff on UA-cam, I'd love to see them do other stuff with it like recreating antique tools and gadgets or 3d model new ones and print them out and cast them.
1.) It's not hot enough, you need to get well above its melting point to ensure it flows into the mold properly 2.) the molds need to be vented in some way, the air inside them needs to go somewhere. The wet sand will hold its shape but it's not porous enough to allow natural venting 3.) the bubbling in the open molds is a result of the mold containing moisture. Even the smallest drop of moisture can result in a steam explosion that sprays molten metal all over and causes bubbles in the surface. Preheat your molds until dry whenever possible.
Totally agree, but want to add that the way to increase the temperature is by adding oxygen... NOT using compressed oxygen from a gas bottle, but blowing in air with a blower, (a pipe through the sidewall of the foundry to which you attach an old hair dryer, although you can use a manual bellows if you need an intense arm workout). Also has to have a port for the air to exit, preferably creating a vortex inside the foundry, swirling around the crucible. The color of the molten metal is the indicator of its temperature. Red hot is not hot enough, orange-getting warmer, yellow-almost there, almost white hot, get ready to pour. Don't know for sure, but I think having the mould angled slightly downward from the sprue may help. Biggest thing though is venting. Trapped air inside the mould will prevent adequate filling. Here is a good resource on making green sand foundry101.com/mixing-sand/
Also you should never use wet molds you will have it make steam which can either produce air pockets in the metal or worst case it explodes in not a good way :)
Not to mention that a pre-heated mold will just cool the metal slower. Thermal transfer is proportional to the 4th power of the temperature difference, so even a little heat added to it will help a lot.
This, more than anything! It's also a good idea to make a riser, a reservoir above the mold which gravity feeds your iron in. Most guys use a soup can and some steel tubing as a form. It really helps to shove the metal into the corners.
I've only ever casted aluminum and I did it nearly 2 decades ago but when casting, I believe we had a breather hole on the opposite side of the pour hole so it could flow without any pressure buildup. This will let the metal flow better in the cast and also let you see on the other side when you have enough poured as it will start to rise out the other side.
There are some amazing mold coatings that are like a ceramic paint but they use extremely flammable solvents that burn off almost instantly and leave a mirror smooth surface finish right out of the mold. I've done a lot of aluminum casting and I've cast over 1000lbs of lead so I thought I knew alot about casting. Then I watched some professional foundry workers and realized that I only knew about 5% of what there is to know about casting.
Yes! I would absolutely love to see you expand further into perfecting the pan. I just love all your videos, great job as always... Also, how cute was it making those tiny meals, oddly satisfying and funny. Lol
I have completely stopped watching tkor after they got rid of nate and calli. At first i was a little skeptical of those two when they took over but they did really well and the experiments were great. Now the experiments are kind of stupid and boring and it seems as the whole personality of the show is just for kids no fun in it for adults anymore.
I'd love to see more of this. So many people don't show failures, but failing is often the best teacher, imo. I'd love to see you figure out what parts are going wrong and how to address them.
It would be best if the sprue was on the bottom of the pan and was large enough to act as the riser also to control shrink, the handle should have a vent on the tip. It will relieve pressure and signal a complete pour.
I remember from brass casting, your pore hole should be at the end of the handle. You might also put a pore hole on the far side of the pan. Build the sand mold withe the pore channels so you don’t have cave in. Cut off the excess afterward. Our castings used more than 1 pore hole to complete the fittings.
I think you need to add vent holes at the extremities of the mold to allow the air to escape. It’s creating pressure especially with the high heat. So once the liquid metal backs up, that’s it. It’s not going to go much further than where it is.
keep going. Love how you are willing to show your mistakes and how you learning from them. Life is not easy. Sometimes you fail. We really need to remind people that failing is not a bad thing.
One thing I especially love with your channel Nate, is that you are proud to present even the partially-succeeded, partially-failed projects like this half of a pan. The same goes with the brass blade you attempted to make. This gives more realistic touch to your videos as DIY projects aren't always completely successful, sunshine and rainbows. It is often demotivating if people try to repeat a DIY project they see online and don't get the same perfect results right away. It is always a learning process (which is good) and needs several attempts but at the same time this is often hidden behind the edited videos.
The sand needs to have some oil mixed in to make the sand pack and pack the sand in layers when getting the mold ready also you need a pour spot and a return hole
Yes, I want to see you do more with cast Iron! A blower will help get the temps up higher in the propane foundry/furnace. I’ve melted steel using dense fire bricks, a weed burner and a $20 Home Depot shop vac on blow. Your setup is much better insulated than anything I’ve used. Adding a flux, like quartz sand and borax will help with cleaning of the iron, lowering the melting temp and making the iron flow better.
It’s just entertaining watching you figure things out, I wouldn’t know where to start with a lot of projects, and it’s nice learning an experience with someone else
Absolutely would love to see more. The forge episodes are the reason I started watching TKOR. Was pretty cool to see you upscale the forge and would be cooler to see it improved
I think this amazing, and I feel that if you "perfect" the casting cast iron pans" then you'll work out all sorts of issues. One thing I think you need is an exit or vent hole. As you pour in the molten iron the moisure in the sand turns to steam and expands... that might also be hindering the pour. So a vent hole on the fast side of the mold might make a huge difference. You can make it with sometime as simple as a straw while the pan is still in the mold and a decent cardboard straw should be enough, can even leave it in the sand while you pour as it'll burn off if it gets too hot.
speaking from experience, Nate you need to add 3 to 4 channels into your mold to allow for the air pocket to be moved into. It is that air pocket that is stopping the molten metal from spreading farther into your mold. You can also try adding an overflow channel at the other end of the mold to allow the air to escape and so you can see when you have added enough molten material in your pore.
I am so personally invested in ensuring this gets hundreds of thousands if not millions more views I need to see you continue to pursue this please i need a full pan
We make brake rotors, tractor weights, pump housings, lifting weights, and fry pans all out of grey iron. Grey iron has graphite flakes which gives it that texture.
I think you should continue on with it. The reason is that, if you figure that out, then there's other things you'll be able to make. It will widen your world of metal working.
Hey Nate, worked in a legit iron foundry for a number of years, I have some tips that could help. Try adding a wooden bead around the inside of each mould half, ideally a half round dowel, 20mm diameter would work, or failing that, a 10mm square baton, nailed to the inside of the wooden mould halfway up, this would give the green sand something to purchase onto. Also, we used resin set sand "air set moulding" it used a slow curing resin mixed in with the sand, set in about 20 minutes, after which, we would remove the "pattern" (the thing we are casting and then close the two sides up. we would only add the pouring hole and sprues on one side of the mould, and we would also add a smaller pouring hole, that would allow the iron to flow through and not create an air pocket, ideally this would be polar opposite to the hole you are pouring into - feel free to hit me up if you want to know more. loving all of your videos.
I wondered if you could mix something in with the sand to harden it, but would resin be able to handle those temperatures, and would it be food safe with regards to residue? Also have you ever used graphite for molds?
@@DFPercush so we used resin in a commercial iron foundry, 100s of employees. So I assume it was the correct stuff. And at those temperatures, I assume anything that could be considered non food safe, would be burnt off by the 2000 degree iron. We made all sorts, including iron pans.
@@topcat2757 That's interesting, thanks for responding. One more question though, does the resin make the mold reusable, or do you still have to break it each time?
It was so entertaining and awesome that you kept trying to make the best of what happened, instead of just ending the video. That is one reason why you are good at making videos.
Yes! I'd love to see you try and get a full pan! > Like many here I'm curious why you didn't attempt to have the pour hole deposit molten iron into the middle of the pan so that there is a better likelihood that it would reach the edges before it cooled off. > Also, perhaps instead of making a pan, make a griddle instead?... it's essentially just a flat slab of cooking surface and you can use a small baking sheet as your template... you can even carve some strips (or press small rebar?) into the top mold to create raised metal rows that can create grill marks... the back side can serve as your flat top. ;) Looking forward to what you come up next!
I would absolutely love to see you make a full pan from casting. It'll be very educational and friendly enough information to make me want to try it. Borox is used to lower melting points maybe that'll help you
Also, when you're cutting the excess of the pan, it would help if you heat up the whole thing with a blowtorch in order to prevent any massive temperature gradients where you're cutting, I've cracked a cast iron pan by having it on a Swedish One Log Fire and strong winds hitting the side. Same goes for if you're welding cast iron, but that's a whole different set of skills. Great video regardless, I'm glad to see you didn't give up the moment you saw it wasn't going perfectly. Well done, and thanks for bringing back the golden days of TKOR.
I would love to see more of this. If you try again I know that it isn't exactly correct but you could put the spout on the bottom and have the air outlet on the handle. This would make it so the main part of the pan is the first to get filled and would push towards the outlet. You had to cut of the excess anyway and clean it up so it shouldn't be too different.
You have totally nailed what youtube is all about. Too many videos show perfection, and you do have perfect videos based on your skills, but it's nice to see you go beyond your expertise, and then we can watch your knowledge and skill set grow. Keep trying. I want to see all the mistakes and then the final perfect pan! Very funny content as well with the tiny meals and the effort you put into that as well, totally Nate haha
Nate, I would love to see you continue casting iron! You might try increasing the oxygen to your burner with some external source like a blower motor or something similar or just add pure oxygen to the Vortex of the fire but don’t forget to use a flashback arrestor good luck!
Idea: maybe use a thicker mold that way the iron can seep into the mold better. as for the green sand I think you need more clay in your mixture. great video!!
Hi Nate got some ideas (humble suggestions) for your next skillet. When something round is laying flat, placing the pour hole (sprue) in the middle of the pan with thin air escapes around the edge and or at the end of the handle makes more sense (to me at least). when your stuck with course sand some funnel shape cylinders (with little handles on the top) that sit on the frying pan so as to tightly pack sand around them, removing them just before pouring to help avoid collapsing that can result from digging movement. After you refined the green sand mix just for fun, try doing it with materials of differing viscosity that cost less or don't need to melt (resin, wax, chocolate, sugar glass...).
Hey Nate, while the pan is in the sand mold set your pour hole in the center of the bottom of the pan. Also preheat your mold so the pour temp doesn't drop so quickly.
With cast iron being flat bottom, one might be able to make an open topped mold so that you don't have to worry about flling a solid void that has no way for air to escape. May end up with a THICK handle, but you would be able to fully form the pan itself
(1) Please make a Discord server! (2) Idea: You could use the lost-wax or lost-styrofoam method, but with the flat surface on the top. That way, the metal only has to go in the channels deep enough to make the sides and the handle, and you might get an uneven bottom (as in the part which sits on the fire, not the part on which you cook). Alternatively, you might want to use a plaster to make the sand tougher, to prevent the sand on the top side from falling on the bottom side. I think you should also try to use a geopolymer (cement-like) mixture of clay, lye, and waterglass or silica sand (there's apparently other sands, like granite sand, for example). The clay (ideally metakaolin, but any clay good enough for pottery works, and you can even use normal mud from the ground around the furnace), lye (sodium hydroxide, or potassium hydroxide which can be made by mixing wood ash with water and then the lye is dissolved in the water), and silica sand or beach sand (which can be mixed with lye (of any of those 2 types) to make waterglass) or waterglass, then the mixture will set like cement, and end up more thermally resistant than cement, closer to terracotta (depending on the terracotta and the geopolymer mixture). With a proper mold, especially if you can heat it a bit in the kiln, I think your chances of success are much higher. If you use cement, remember that you can use something like 3%-6% and 2-4 times more water than cement, and the rest can be the sand mixture you're already using, and after the cement cures (ideally using a cement which sets in 30 minutes or so, but one which sets in a day or two also works well), you can remove the positive from the mold (if it's not done using the lost-wax or lost-styrofoam method), re-assemble the two sides, and pour the metal. Depending on the mixture, you can also heat it slowly in the kiln or in a home oven, to get it hotter, so the metal flows a longer distance before it solidifies.
Nate: YOU HAVE TO PUT AN AIR PORT OPPOSITE THE ONE YOU POUR INTO... AIR AND GASES HAVE TO BE ABLE TO ESCAPE JUST LIKE TRYING TO POUR INTO A BOTTLE AND IT SPITS BACK UP AT YOU. AIR CAN'T COME OUT THROUGH THE METAL BLOCKING THE ENTRY. REMEMBER HOT AIR EXPANDS AS WELL.
If you redo the furnace lid for future casting, drill some holes around the circumference and put some bolts through before pouring the cement. They will act like rebar and permanently attach the steel part to the insulation.
You might try a flux(say borax for instance) since that's a traditional way to lower the melting temperature required and clean the metals involved in casting. Add some plaster to your greensand and bake out your molds or make a full plaster lost wax mould. You should also have more fullers earth than that for iron as it needs far more mould integrity.
It's so nice to be able to visibly see how much happier you are as of recent compared to when you first left TKOR. Its obvious the freedom of content and ability to be RANDOM is good for you
Not an expert by any means, but I did some casting in college. We had a pour channel and a vent channel on the other side so the metal would flow all the way through. Also, we used styrofoam as the mold so the metal would take the foam away and leave the casting. Also, I believe the sand had some oil in it. Hope this helps.
I would definitely love to see you continue your quest into casting iron. My suggestion is that the forge is too big for your burner. Adding a second burner should solve your problem of getting up to temperature. You also may want to add a vent hole in the lid.
I have an old huge cast iron pan, and there's remains of a pour spout straight in the middle of the surface of the pan. For some reason it wasn't properly ground down, and for some equally strange reason I never got around to grind it flat even though I've sworn about it numerous times as the spatula catches on it when scraping the pan. So adding a spout in the middle of the pan probably is a good idea as well as several ways for the air to evacuate the mold as you pour the iron. Another thing to consider is preheating the mold. It takes making a large oven and I have no idea how to stabilize the sand. But it's an idea. Perhaps try lost wax? Just throwing things out there...
Hey,Nate you made a very nice and surrealistic pan and I like it! Please do not throw it away or remelt it as it has merit as an object of art-way cool,man!
Would love to see a a custom cast iron skillet made, not that there is a lot of room for customizing but maybe one you designed yourself! Love the video
have u tried mixing a little bit of cement/plaster cause if I remember correctly from a "how it's made" episode large scale factories add a binder to prevent the sand from collapsing, also if the mold is too cold and causes iron to cool down too fast then simply preheat the mold as well. It would also be nice to see u cast pans out of other metals like aluminum or copper and why nobody uses casted aluminum pans or casted copper pans.
Definitely want to see a full pan...whether a small size or large...and to see if you can get it seasoned without the mottled effect from the seasoning process.
I've watched casting videos before and I've noticed that they add vent tubes to the mold on the opposite side from the pour spout for air to escape so that the metal can fill the whole mold. If you're going to try it again, you'd probably need to do that to get a full cast. Another person posted the same suggestion in the comments and called it a breather hole.
Sodium silicate. Find out it's uses. Great for the kaowool and making green sand. I have made many kilns with kaowool and sodium silicate and fired them over 2200 degrees. Mix fine grain sand with sodium silicate to make green sand. I really like your channel.
You could always make the pour spout and the pan out of foam because foam will melt and you pour it down there while the sand is being held in place by the foam and once you pour the metal in then the metal will take place of the foam
I have a recommendation to help with your casting. Shape your desired piece out of paraffin or candle wax. Place this form in your Green sand and add pour funnel and vents. Pour your molten metal. The metal will burn away the wax, creating a draw, pulling your metal into the mold. Be careful because it will spit a little.
I think that the flat orientation of your pan in the mold require more of a 'vault' that your sand is going to be willing to do. Seems like it would be easier, vertical. Then, your handle can be right at the beginning of your sprew. Just hypothesizing.
I knew as soon as Nate made his own channel he'd do videos like this and i hope he can grow and get millions of subscribers i hope his channel goes far and it's successful.
Something I've seen on a few sand casting boxes is a small quarter to half inch lip in the middle of either side of the casting box it gives the sand something to hold onto
Since you've broken away from TKOR, it's good to see an unrestricted flow of ideas! Maybe it's some sort of confirmation bias, but after watching your "Why I Left" video, looking back at the more recent TKOR vids, it's obvious they were chasing the algorithm. It's refreshing to see quality ideas put to the test in your content. Keep it up, man!
I want to see so much more iron casting and work on improving your green sand! This was so cool. And working with Joseph and HTME was cool and would have enjoyed more with them
Nate 💯
That's what I was thinking
Same
Yesm revisit this
There really isn't enough cast iron stuff on UA-cam, I'd love to see them do other stuff with it like recreating antique tools and gadgets or 3d model new ones and print them out and cast them.
1.) It's not hot enough, you need to get well above its melting point to ensure it flows into the mold properly
2.) the molds need to be vented in some way, the air inside them needs to go somewhere. The wet sand will hold its shape but it's not porous enough to allow natural venting
3.) the bubbling in the open molds is a result of the mold containing moisture. Even the smallest drop of moisture can result in a steam explosion that sprays molten metal all over and causes bubbles in the surface. Preheat your molds until dry whenever possible.
What this guy said. Hotter metal, air vents, preheat the mold. Yes, to all those.
And extend the sprue, somewhat
Totally agree, but want to add that the way to increase the temperature is by adding oxygen... NOT using compressed oxygen from a gas bottle, but blowing in air with a blower, (a pipe through the sidewall of the foundry to which you attach an old hair dryer, although you can use a manual bellows if you need an intense arm workout). Also has to have a port for the air to exit, preferably creating a vortex inside the foundry, swirling around the crucible. The color of the molten metal is the indicator of its temperature. Red hot is not hot enough, orange-getting warmer, yellow-almost there, almost white hot, get ready to pour.
Don't know for sure, but I think having the mould angled slightly downward from the sprue may help. Biggest thing though is venting. Trapped air inside the mould will prevent adequate filling.
Here is a good resource on making green sand
foundry101.com/mixing-sand/
Also you should never use wet molds you will have it make steam which can either produce air pockets in the metal or worst case it explodes in not a good way :)
Not to mention that a pre-heated mold will just cool the metal slower. Thermal transfer is proportional to the 4th power of the temperature difference, so even a little heat added to it will help a lot.
When casting, you also need a place for air to come out as metal goes in. Love the videos. Keep trying
This, more than anything! It's also a good idea to make a riser, a reservoir above the mold which gravity feeds your iron in. Most guys use a soup can and some steel tubing as a form. It really helps to shove the metal into the corners.
An air escape hole opposite the pour while really would help.
@@Corbald Ah yes!, and helps hold the heat, too, keeping the supply of iron molten, if I recall correctly from my Uni days.
I've only ever casted aluminum and I did it nearly 2 decades ago but when casting, I believe we had a breather hole on the opposite side of the pour hole so it could flow without any pressure buildup. This will let the metal flow better in the cast and also let you see on the other side when you have enough poured as it will start to rise out the other side.
Good advice
I was wondering if there needed to be a second hole to relieve the pressure during the pour
There are some amazing mold coatings that are like a ceramic paint but they use extremely flammable solvents that burn off almost instantly and leave a mirror smooth surface finish right out of the mold. I've done a lot of aluminum casting and I've cast over 1000lbs of lead so I thought I knew alot about casting. Then I watched some professional foundry workers and realized that I only knew about 5% of what there is to know about casting.
Yes! I would absolutely love to see you expand further into perfecting the pan. I just love all your videos, great job as always... Also, how cute was it making those tiny meals, oddly satisfying and funny. Lol
This is what TKOR used to be back in the golden age.
I have completely stopped watching tkor after they got rid of nate and calli. At first i was a little skeptical of those two when they took over but they did really well and the experiments were great. Now the experiments are kind of stupid and boring and it seems as the whole personality of the show is just for kids no fun in it for adults anymore.
@@Ziptie1997 I stopped as well. I agree it's not any fun to watch now.
@@robertmarkplog lets just hope the channel turns into a nice charitable thing for his family and others
@@Ziptie1997 yeah and now its tqor
@@Ziptie1997 I constantly posted that in hopes they would try and reach out to the original subscribers. But nope. They aimed towards 8 year olds
I appreciate your dedication to "cooking tiny food on this tiny pan", Nate. 😍🥰👍
YES!
I'd love to see more of this. So many people don't show failures, but failing is often the best teacher, imo. I'd love to see you figure out what parts are going wrong and how to address them.
Can't help but think you should use the handle as a pour spout and cast it vertically to reduce heat loss.
This honestly drove me a little insane 😂
Nice thinking
It would be best if the sprue was on the bottom of the pan and was large enough to act as the riser also to control shrink, the handle should have a vent on the tip. It will relieve pressure and signal a complete pour.
All the really old cast iron pans I have seen had the casting gate in the center of the bottom of the pan.
Okay okay spinning a cast iron pan on your finger is kind of impressive
I was thinking the same thing
I remember from brass casting, your pore hole should be at the end of the handle. You might also put a pore hole on the far side of the pan. Build the sand mold withe the pore channels so you don’t have cave in. Cut off the excess afterward. Our castings used more than 1 pore hole to complete the fittings.
Actually, I am quite impressed you managed to even get that much of a pan. And ya, would love to see you pursue this further.
One of my favorite videos so far, mini food was a funny addition to the video that I did not expect.
I think you need to add vent holes at the extremities of the mold to allow the air to escape. It’s creating pressure especially with the high heat. So once the liquid metal backs up, that’s it. It’s not going to go much further than where it is.
keep going. Love how you are willing to show your mistakes and how you learning from them. Life is not easy. Sometimes you fail. We really need to remind people that failing is not a bad thing.
Yes more iron casting, yes to more collaborations, yes to more Nate from the internet!
One thing I especially love with your channel Nate, is that you are proud to present even the partially-succeeded, partially-failed projects like this half of a pan. The same goes with the brass blade you attempted to make. This gives more realistic touch to your videos as DIY projects aren't always completely successful, sunshine and rainbows. It is often demotivating if people try to repeat a DIY project they see online and don't get the same perfect results right away. It is always a learning process (which is good) and needs several attempts but at the same time this is often hidden behind the edited videos.
Nate makes the bacon and eggs, Reepicheep is like “it’s a full course meal!”
I love how this turned into a tiny foods episode😂
The sand needs to have some oil mixed in to make the sand pack and pack the sand in layers when getting the mold ready also you need a pour spot and a return hole
Mix in some powdered clay also to act as a bonding agent. A 5 to 1 ratio is a good starting point.
Yes, I want to see you do more with cast Iron!
A blower will help get the temps up higher in the propane foundry/furnace. I’ve melted steel using dense fire bricks, a weed burner and a $20 Home Depot shop vac on blow. Your setup is much better insulated than anything I’ve used.
Adding a flux, like quartz sand and borax will help with cleaning of the iron, lowering the melting temp and making the iron flow better.
I never thought I would laugh at a frying pan but this was great
I do like the pan from weights idea, would love to see more stuff like this or this idea fully finished in a part 2!
It’s just entertaining watching you figure things out, I wouldn’t know where to start with a lot of projects, and it’s nice learning an experience with someone else
Absolutely would love to see more. The forge episodes are the reason I started watching TKOR. Was pretty cool to see you upscale the forge and would be cooler to see it improved
I think this amazing, and I feel that if you "perfect" the casting cast iron pans" then you'll work out all sorts of issues.
One thing I think you need is an exit or vent hole. As you pour in the molten iron the moisure in the sand turns to steam and expands... that might also be hindering the pour. So a vent hole on the fast side of the mold might make a huge difference. You can make it with sometime as simple as a straw while the pan is still in the mold and a decent cardboard straw should be enough, can even leave it in the sand while you pour as it'll burn off if it gets too hot.
speaking from experience, Nate you need to add 3 to 4 channels into your mold to allow for the air pocket to be moved into. It is that air pocket that is stopping the molten metal from spreading farther into your mold. You can also try adding an overflow channel at the other end of the mold to allow the air to escape and so you can see when you have added enough molten material in your pore.
I absolutely love your channel Nate!mice been watching your content for years, and I still really your videos. I hope you do this for a long time!
I am so personally invested in ensuring this gets hundreds of thousands if not millions more views I need to see you continue to pursue this please i need a full pan
It's a proof of concept, a Fine art piece, and a nouveau gourmet experience. Great show Nate.
We make brake rotors, tractor weights, pump housings, lifting weights, and fry pans all out of grey iron. Grey iron has graphite flakes which gives it that texture.
We need to see a complete pan. Loved this, keep it up.
I think you should continue on with it. The reason is that, if you figure that out, then there's other things you'll be able to make. It will widen your world of metal working.
Absolutely would love to see a part 2 to this project! Good first attempt though!
(Also let us know your solution for the lid issue on the foundry!)
Hey Nate, worked in a legit iron foundry for a number of years, I have some tips that could help. Try adding a wooden bead around the inside of each mould half, ideally a half round dowel, 20mm diameter would work, or failing that, a 10mm square baton, nailed to the inside of the wooden mould halfway up, this would give the green sand something to purchase onto. Also, we used resin set sand "air set moulding" it used a slow curing resin mixed in with the sand, set in about 20 minutes, after which, we would remove the "pattern" (the thing we are casting and then close the two sides up. we would only add the pouring hole and sprues on one side of the mould, and we would also add a smaller pouring hole, that would allow the iron to flow through and not create an air pocket, ideally this would be polar opposite to the hole you are pouring into - feel free to hit me up if you want to know more. loving all of your videos.
I wondered if you could mix something in with the sand to harden it, but would resin be able to handle those temperatures, and would it be food safe with regards to residue? Also have you ever used graphite for molds?
@@DFPercush so we used resin in a commercial iron foundry, 100s of employees. So I assume it was the correct stuff. And at those temperatures, I assume anything that could be considered non food safe, would be burnt off by the 2000 degree iron. We made all sorts, including iron pans.
@@topcat2757 That's interesting, thanks for responding. One more question though, does the resin make the mold reusable, or do you still have to break it each time?
It was so entertaining and awesome that you kept trying to make the best of what happened, instead of just ending the video. That is one reason why you are good at making videos.
Yes! I'd love to see you try and get a full pan!
> Like many here I'm curious why you didn't attempt to have the pour hole deposit molten iron into the middle of the pan so that there is a better likelihood that it would reach the edges before it cooled off.
> Also, perhaps instead of making a pan, make a griddle instead?... it's essentially just a flat slab of cooking surface and you can use a small baking sheet as your template... you can even carve some strips (or press small rebar?) into the top mold to create raised metal rows that can create grill marks... the back side can serve as your flat top. ;)
Looking forward to what you come up next!
The 2nd attempt in the sand mold looked awesome! It would be cool on a desk, side table, or dresser as a small items holder!
must still be processing? I only have 360p option
Same here
Also same
same
360 is plenty.
@@joshuagibson2520 yeah, if it was 2004
yes you absolutely do need to give this another try
I think if you had done it with two different pour spouts. One on each end, it would of poured and filled the cavity better.
would have***
I think the larger pan will be easier to cast, and having a vent opposite of the pour spout could help the mold fill more complete/faster.
I'd definitely love to see you pursue casting like this further! This was really cool, and almost worked. Good job!
I am happy to see you continuing the videos. I cast aluminum and have wanted to try cast iron. This is great encouragement.
We need a
"FIT FOR A SMALL KING"
T-shirt with picture of that pan 😄
Thank you nate, its so important to see the failures. I know everyone who posts pours and castings, doesnt show failure too much
I would absolutely love to see you make a full pan from casting. It'll be very educational and friendly enough information to make me want to try it. Borox is used to lower melting points maybe that'll help you
Also, when you're cutting the excess of the pan, it would help if you heat up the whole thing with a blowtorch in order to prevent any massive temperature gradients where you're cutting, I've cracked a cast iron pan by having it on a Swedish One Log Fire and strong winds hitting the side. Same goes for if you're welding cast iron, but that's a whole different set of skills. Great video regardless, I'm glad to see you didn't give up the moment you saw it wasn't going perfectly. Well done, and thanks for bringing back the golden days of TKOR.
I would love to see a full pan. I want to see more. 🍳
I would love to see more of this. If you try again I know that it isn't exactly correct but you could put the spout on the bottom and have the air outlet on the handle. This would make it so the main part of the pan is the first to get filled and would push towards the outlet. You had to cut of the excess anyway and clean it up so it shouldn't be too different.
You have totally nailed what youtube is all about. Too many videos show perfection, and you do have perfect videos based on your skills, but it's nice to see you go beyond your expertise, and then we can watch your knowledge and skill set grow. Keep trying. I want to see all the mistakes and then the final perfect pan! Very funny content as well with the tiny meals and the effort you put into that as well, totally Nate haha
Nate, I would love to see you continue casting iron! You might try increasing the oxygen to your burner with some external source like a blower motor or something similar or just add pure oxygen to the Vortex of the fire but don’t forget to use a flashback arrestor good luck!
Heck yeah! I love cast iron. Be cool to see you make a full pan and cook some more things!
I absolutely love how it went from Nate from the Internet to Nate from the tiny cooking channel lol good job dude
Idea: maybe use a thicker mold that way the iron can seep into the mold better. as for the green sand I think you need more clay in your mixture. great video!!
Hi Nate
got some ideas (humble suggestions) for your next skillet.
When something round is laying flat, placing the pour hole (sprue) in the middle of the pan with thin air escapes around the edge and or at the end of the handle makes more sense (to me at least).
when your stuck with course sand some funnel shape cylinders (with little handles on the top) that sit on the frying pan so as to tightly pack sand around them, removing them just before pouring to help avoid collapsing that can result from digging movement.
After you refined the green sand mix just for fun, try doing it with materials of differing viscosity that cost less or don't need to melt (resin, wax, chocolate, sugar glass...).
Hey Nate, while the pan is in the sand mold set your pour hole in the center of the bottom of the pan. Also preheat your mold so the pour temp doesn't drop so quickly.
With cast iron being flat bottom, one might be able to make an open topped mold so that you don't have to worry about flling a solid void that has no way for air to escape. May end up with a THICK handle, but you would be able to fully form the pan itself
Nice idea
(1) Please make a Discord server! (2) Idea: You could use the lost-wax or lost-styrofoam method, but with the flat surface on the top. That way, the metal only has to go in the channels deep enough to make the sides and the handle, and you might get an uneven bottom (as in the part which sits on the fire, not the part on which you cook). Alternatively, you might want to use a plaster to make the sand tougher, to prevent the sand on the top side from falling on the bottom side. I think you should also try to use a geopolymer (cement-like) mixture of clay, lye, and waterglass or silica sand (there's apparently other sands, like granite sand, for example). The clay (ideally metakaolin, but any clay good enough for pottery works, and you can even use normal mud from the ground around the furnace), lye (sodium hydroxide, or potassium hydroxide which can be made by mixing wood ash with water and then the lye is dissolved in the water), and silica sand or beach sand (which can be mixed with lye (of any of those 2 types) to make waterglass) or waterglass, then the mixture will set like cement, and end up more thermally resistant than cement, closer to terracotta (depending on the terracotta and the geopolymer mixture). With a proper mold, especially if you can heat it a bit in the kiln, I think your chances of success are much higher. If you use cement, remember that you can use something like 3%-6% and 2-4 times more water than cement, and the rest can be the sand mixture you're already using, and after the cement cures (ideally using a cement which sets in 30 minutes or so, but one which sets in a day or two also works well), you can remove the positive from the mold (if it's not done using the lost-wax or lost-styrofoam method), re-assemble the two sides, and pour the metal. Depending on the mixture, you can also heat it slowly in the kiln or in a home oven, to get it hotter, so the metal flows a longer distance before it solidifies.
Introduce oxygen to increase temperature. Great video! I love how you still finish your project even if it's not complete.
Yeah I want to see a full one I think it would be an awesome series.
The world's tiniest strips of bacon! And with a screwdriver spatula!!!
Just cool project, I'd be proud of that result for a first time.
I can't wait to see what you'll be able to make once you figure out the green sand
Nate: YOU HAVE TO PUT AN AIR PORT OPPOSITE THE ONE YOU POUR INTO... AIR AND GASES HAVE TO BE ABLE TO ESCAPE JUST LIKE TRYING TO POUR INTO A BOTTLE AND IT SPITS BACK UP AT YOU. AIR CAN'T COME OUT THROUGH THE METAL BLOCKING THE ENTRY. REMEMBER HOT AIR EXPANDS AS WELL.
If you redo the furnace lid for future casting, drill some holes around the circumference and put some bolts through before pouring the cement. They will act like rebar and permanently attach the steel part to the insulation.
You might try a flux(say borax for instance) since that's a traditional way to lower the melting temperature required and clean the metals involved in casting. Add some plaster to your greensand and bake out your molds or make a full plaster lost wax mould. You should also have more fullers earth than that for iron as it needs far more mould integrity.
It's so nice to be able to visibly see how much happier you are as of recent compared to when you first left TKOR. Its obvious the freedom of content and ability to be RANDOM is good for you
in bigger iron melting processes, the heat is put directly into the iron instead of around it, often with an arc furnace
What an adorable cast iron scooptula.
Not an expert by any means, but I did some casting in college. We had a pour channel and a vent channel on the other side so the metal would flow all the way through. Also, we used styrofoam as the mold so the metal would take the foam away and leave the casting. Also, I believe the sand had some oil in it. Hope this helps.
I would definitely love to see you continue your quest into casting iron. My suggestion is that the forge is too big for your burner. Adding a second burner should solve your problem of getting up to temperature. You also may want to add a vent hole in the lid.
I have an old huge cast iron pan, and there's remains of a pour spout straight in the middle of the surface of the pan. For some reason it wasn't properly ground down, and for some equally strange reason I never got around to grind it flat even though I've sworn about it numerous times as the spatula catches on it when scraping the pan. So adding a spout in the middle of the pan probably is a good idea as well as several ways for the air to evacuate the mold as you pour the iron.
Another thing to consider is preheating the mold. It takes making a large oven and I have no idea how to stabilize the sand. But it's an idea. Perhaps try lost wax? Just throwing things out there...
Yes, i think you should totally do more!
As far as melting metals and making useful things out of scrap, YES! We all need the knowledge
I love the variety of content I would like to see you complete a full pan even Smurf sized would be ok 👍🍳
We need more of this. That was really cool to see
I Really wish you had got a Full Pan, but it's HILARIOUS that it's so small and stuff lol
Hey,Nate you made a very nice and surrealistic pan and I like it! Please do not throw it away or remelt it as it has merit as an object of art-way cool,man!
Would love to see a a custom cast iron skillet made, not that there is a lot of room for customizing but maybe one you designed yourself! Love the video
have u tried mixing a little bit of cement/plaster cause if I remember correctly from a "how it's made" episode large scale factories add a binder to prevent the sand from collapsing, also if the mold is too cold and causes iron to cool down too fast then simply preheat the mold as well. It would also be nice to see u cast pans out of other metals like aluminum or copper and why nobody uses casted aluminum pans or casted copper pans.
Definitely want to see a full pan...whether a small size or large...and to see if you can get it seasoned without the mottled effect from the seasoning process.
This gives me the original TKOR Grant Thompson vibes. Love this sort of organic, not “overly produced” vibe.
I've watched casting videos before and I've noticed that they add vent tubes to the mold on the opposite side from the pour spout for air to escape so that the metal can fill the whole mold. If you're going to try it again, you'd probably need to do that to get a full cast. Another person posted the same suggestion in the comments and called it a breather hole.
More of this...this is what made tkor so much fun to watch and learn from.
It would be cool to see a fully functional cast iron pan
It'd be neat to see a full pan. Onward with the casting!
I'd absolutely enjoy seeing you master this!
Sodium silicate. Find out it's uses. Great for the kaowool and making green sand. I have made many kilns with kaowool and sodium silicate and fired them over 2200 degrees. Mix fine grain sand with sodium silicate to make green sand.
I really like your channel.
You could always make the pour spout and the pan out of foam because foam will melt and you pour it down there while the sand is being held in place by the foam and once you pour the metal in then the metal will take place of the foam
I have a recommendation to help with your casting. Shape your desired piece out of paraffin or candle wax. Place this form in your Green sand and add pour funnel and vents. Pour your molten metal. The metal will burn away the wax, creating a draw, pulling your metal into the mold. Be careful because it will spit a little.
So glad you created you are still doing youtube videos.
You and HTME will be really great!
it would be really cool to see you essentially make your own whole set of kitchen utensils (pans, spatulas, kinves, spoons, etc.)
I think that the flat orientation of your pan in the mold require more of a 'vault' that your sand is going to be willing to do. Seems like it would be easier, vertical. Then, your handle can be right at the beginning of your sprew. Just hypothesizing.
I knew as soon as Nate made his own channel he'd do videos like this and i hope he can grow and get millions of subscribers i hope his channel goes far and it's successful.
Something I've seen on a few sand casting boxes is a small quarter to half inch lip in the middle of either side of the casting box it gives the sand something to hold onto
Since you've broken away from TKOR, it's good to see an unrestricted flow of ideas! Maybe it's some sort of confirmation bias, but after watching your "Why I Left" video, looking back at the more recent TKOR vids, it's obvious they were chasing the algorithm. It's refreshing to see quality ideas put to the test in your content. Keep it up, man!
Yes - please keep going - would love to see you finish it...
You could also put in a chamber in the pour spout that will keep a lot of your iron liquid longer.
Yes!!! Size is fine. Would like to see a successful melt. And also the seasoning. :)